Protective cover



1939- I s. M. GRISWOLD 2,182,022

PROTECTIVE COVER Original Filed June 30. 1936 5 Shoots-Sheet l ma 7;$22120 $231M;

Dec. 5, 1939. s. M smswou: 2,132,022

PROTECTIVE COVER Original Filed June 30, 1936 5 ShoetsSheo 2 Doc. 5,1939'. s. M. GRISWOLD PROTECTIVE COVER Original Filed June 30, 1936 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Dee 5, 1939. s. M. GRISWOLD 2,132,022

PROTECTIVE COVER Oriiaal Filed June 30, 1936 5 Sheets-Shut 4"Wanna!rim;an.

Dec. 5, 1939. s. M. GRISWOLD 2,182, 022

PROTECTIVE COVER Original Filed June 30, 1936 5 Sheets$heec 5 Fig .15.I35

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Patented Dec. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PROTECTIVE COVER Stanley M.Griswold, Boston, Mass., assignor to B. B. Chemical 00., Boston, Mass.,a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 30, 1936, Serial No.88,167 Renewed April 28, 1939 20 Claims.

This invention relates to a protective cover for use in the manufactureof shoes and to a lasted shoe in process of manufacture, protected bysuch acover.

In the manufacture of shoes, particularly during those operations whichtake place after the shoe has been lasted, such for example as solelaying, edge trimming and setting and heel finishing, the displaysurface of the upper is liable to be abraded and soiled, especially ifthe uppers are light-colored or are made of delicate fabric or leathersuch as suede. Various kinds of covers have been proposed to protect theuppers of shoes during manufacture, among others covers of thin elasticmaterial such as rubber which have been either preformed covers adaptedto be stretched over the lasted shoe, or covers formed by applying acoat of latex to the shoe and drying the latex. Such covers, so far as Iam aware, have gone into only limited use because of certaindisadvantages among which may be mentioned their liability to beweakened by abrasion or torn and the difficulty of readily removing themcleanly after they have served their purpose so as not to leave portionsof them projecting from the crease between the upper and the welt orbetween the upper and the sole of the shoe.

The general object of the present invention is to produce a protectivecover of elastic material which may readily be properly located on alasted shoe, which will remain intact during the operations upon theshoe and which may readily be torn off after it has served its purposewithout leaving fragments exposed to view in the crease at the junctionof the upper with a bottoming element of the shoe;

The operations performed upon a lasted shoe after the cover has beenapplied are principally concerned with the attaching of the heel and thesole (including in the case of Goodyear welt shoes the sewing of thewelt) and with variousoperations such as edge trimming, edge inking,edge setting and, in the case of shoes having leather heels, heelfinishing. The guides, guards and shields of certain of the machineswhich perform these and other operations traverse the lower margin ofthe protective cover adjacent to the sole or heel and thereby subject itto considerable strains which tend to weaken it so that when the coveris finally torn off it will part at the weakened locality; or theseguards, shields, etc., may break or cut the cover; and once broken orcut the cover has practically lost its protective attribute. Thistendency is very considerable in the case of a thin rubber cover sincethe ooeflicient of friction between rubber and metal is comparativelylarge.

To overcome this difliculty that portion of the cover of the presentinvention which lies over the lower margin of the upper of the shoeadjacent to the sole is tougher or more slippery, or both tougher andmore slippery than is the body portion, the toughness also facilitating,as will presently appear, the final tearing off of the cover after ithas served its purpose. Conveniently, the cover may comprise a thinrubber body having attached to that portion of it which will lie overthe lower margin of the upper of a shoe a strip of reinforcing fibrousmaterial such as paper so made that it will stretch with the rubber bodylengthwise of the margin. The illustrated cover, which is designed to bepreformed and then stretched over a lasted shoe, comprises a bodyportion of thin rubber having cemented to its lower margin a strip ofcreped paper which contains a lubricant, the corrugations of the paperbeing transverse to its length so that the paper will stretch lengthwisewith the rubber but will resist stretching crosswise; and preferablythis paper carries threads all of which are parallel to the corrugationsso that it can be subjected to a considerable tension crosswise. A coverof this kind, by reason of the toughness and the slippery surface of itslower margin, is very resistant to abrasion or cutting by the variousguides and guards which traverse it, and the strength of thismargin-permits a strong pull to be exerted upon it to facilitate thefinal removal of the cover. It should also be noted that this paper,because of its corrugated structure which permits it to contract along alocality on one edge and to lengthen at an opposite locality on theother edge, will accommodate itself to the lower margin of the rubberportion of the cover as that margin is stretched into place around thelower margin of the upper of 40 a lasted shoe.

It is desirable, when placing an elastic cover on a shoe that its properlocationthat is the locating of the lower edge of the body portion atthe edge or just over the edge of the bottomshould be easy ofaccomplishment. Accordingly, where the type of shoe being manufacturedpermits the use of a cover having a bottom, said bottom is such that itcan be stretched more readily than the body portion. It is alsodesirable that the construction of these covers be such that the bodyportion may be readily and cleanly torn from the shoe after the coverhas served its purpose. Both these desirable featuresnamely, ease invlocating the cover properly on 5 may be secured by weakening the bottomalong a locality at or near its edge. Conveniently this weakening may beaccomplished by providing a row of openings along the edge or margin ofthe bottom, said openings extending to a central portion or entirelyacross the bottom of the shoe and thus providing a bottom attached tothe lower edge of the body portion by various straps.

The covers just described above are suitable more particularly for shoethe soles of which are attached by stitches, the nature of the bottomsbeing varied somewhat according to whether the shoe is of the McKay orGoodyear welt type. In the case of shoes the soles of which arepermanently attached by cement, it is desirable that the entire bottomof the lasted shoe should be exposed; and for such shoes 2. cover withan open bottom is provided, said cover being held in place by beingcaused to adhere to the display surface of the upper along a narrowlocality adjacent to the sole of the shoe.

The rubber portion of the covers is made by coating forms with asuitable'liquid, for example by dipping them in rubber latex and dryingor vulcanizing the latex according to whether a vulcanized or avulcanizable latex is employed. In order to permit ready application ofthe paper strip to the lower margin of the cover, a form of particularshape is employed. This form preferably has a substantially flat bottomand a surface extending around the bottom which is flat inone dimension,said surface being preferably a cylindrical surface perpendicular to theplane of the bottom so that, when the form has been dipped and the latexdried, there is provided a sort of track upon which the paper strip mayeasily be applied. To cause the formation of bottom straps or openingsin the bottom of the cover, when desired, a form having depressions inits bottom is employed, the surplus latex being scraped off after theclipping operation so as to leave latex only in the depressions.

These and other features of the invention, including certain variationsof structure and procedure, will be described as embodied in severalcovers, their process of manufacture and their use in the manufacture ofshoes.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a lasted shoe of the McKay type with aprotective cover in place;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the cover of Fig. 1 before it is applied tothe shoe;

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the form on which the cover of Fig. 2 wasmade;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4 is a section of a portion of the form shown in Figs. 3 and 16, onthe line IV of Fig. 16 showing also a part of a cover on the form;

Fig. 5 is a. perspective on a greatly enlarged scale of a piece of thepaper carrying filaments;

Fig. 6 is a perspective of a lasted Goodyear weltshoe with a coverin-place;

Fig. 7 is a perspective of the cover of Fig. 6 before it is applied tothe shoe;

Fig. 8 is a perspective of the form on which the cover of Fig. 7 wasmade;

Fig. 9 is a perspective of a lasted shoe of the type in which the soleis permanently attached by cement, the shoe having upon it a cover. Inthis figure the cover is shown with part of it in process of beingapplied to the shoe, another part after it has been applied to the shoe,and a third part, as it appears after it has been applied to the shoeand that portion which extended over upon the bottom has been roughedoff.

Fig. 10 is a perspective of the cover of Fig.9; Fig. 11 is a perspectiveof the form on which the cover of Fig. 10 was made; A.

Fig. 12 is a. perspective of a lasted shoe of the McKay type with aprotective cover in place, said cover being attached to the bottom ofthe shoe by cement, \the bottom of the cover having been weakened at alocality along the edge of the bottom by a row of slits. In this figurea dotand-dash line indicates the line of stitches by which the sole willsubsequently be attached.

Fig. 13 is a perspective of a lasted shoe of the McKay type with aprotective cover in place,

the bottom of said cover having been weakened at a locality along theedge of the bottom by a row of holes. The stitch line is shown in thisfigure as-in Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a perspective of a lasted shoe of the Goodyear welt type witha protective cover in place, said cover having an opening in its bottom,the edge of the cover around the opening being attached to the sewinglip;

Fig. 15 is an elevation showing the dipping of a form in a coatingliquid; and

Fig. 16 is a perspective of a form showing the bottom of the. form inprocess of being scraped.

Although the lasted shoes, the covers and the forms have been shownbottom side up in the figures, their various parts will be referred tothroughout the specification and claims as though the articles wereright side up. v

Referring first to Figures 1, 12 and 13, there are shown three forms ofprotective covers designed more particularly for use with 'shoes of theMcKay type in which the sole is attached by stitches which pass throughthe outsole and the insole. The bottoms of these covers are eachprovided with a weakened locality extending along the edges of thebottom. This weakening of the bottom not only makes the bottom capableof being more easily stretched than-.is the body portion, so that theproper locating of the cover on the shoe is made easier, but alsofacilitates the subsequent tearing off of the body porthe upper beingindicated at 23. The bottom of this cover is weakened by openings whichnot only extend along the edge of the bottom but entirely across thebottom so as to provide a skeleton bottom consisting of narrow straps21. The bottom of the cover 22 of Fig. 12 is weakened along its edge bya row of slits 26 located outside the line of stitches the sole to theshoe; and the bottom of the cover 32 of Fig. 1-3 is similarly weakenedby a row of holes 36 similarly located outside the stitch line 40. Thebottoms of these three covers are thus more readily stretched than arethe body portions; and the covers, when the time comes to remove them,will break along the weakened lo 28 which subsequently attach;-

cality, the broken edges being hidden in the fin- Cal the skeletonbottom consisting oi the narrow straps 2! herein shown as integral withthe body portion and extending across the bottom of the shoe. Theconstruction or pattern of the bottom may of course be varied. Itshould, however, be such that it will facilitate the proper stretchingof the cover over the shoe in such manner that the edge 29 of the lowermargin of the protective or body portion of the cover (which as willpresently be explained is preferably reinforced) may be readily locatedat the edge or slightly over the edge of the bottom of the shoe and willremain where located. The narrow straps extend inwardly across the lineof stitches which subsequently attach the sole to the shoe so that onlythese narrow straps will be caught by the stitches or held grippedbetween the sole and the'bottom of the lasted shoe after the sole hasbeen attached thus ensuring that, when the cover has served its purpose,the protective or body portion may be cleanly torn from the shoe. Theprovision of narrow straps is par-' ticularly effective in the removalof the cover since only these weak straps need be broken. These strapsstretch considerably before breaking, and the parts of them which remainattached to the shoe tend to snap back into a position in which theirbroken ends are not visible in the finished shoe. The cover, shown byitself in Fig. 2, is somewhat smaller than the lasted shoe over which itis to be stretched, and is considerably narrower across the bottom ofits shank portion than is the corresponding portion of the shoe in orderto cause the cover to conform to this portion of the shoe. In order toensure a close fit and to hold the lower edge 29 of the cover properlyin place, there is at the shank portion of the cover a series of strapslocated close to one another.

After the cover has been stretched over the shoe, the sole and heel areattached, and various operations performed upon them. During theseoperations certain guides, guards and shields of the machines used toperform these operations traverse the lower margin of the cover adjacentto the sole thus tending to abrade or break or cut the cover. In orderto avoid this possibility the lower margin of the cover is preferablymade tougher or more slippery or both tougher and more slippery than thebody portion. Any suitable treatment may be employed to produce thisresult it being borne in mind that with a preformed cover which must bestretched over the shoe, the lower margin should be capable ofstretching with the rubber at least in the direction of the lengthwiseextent of the margin. For example, the lower margin of the body portionof the cover may be coated with rubber cement after which cottomfiockmay be applied to the wet cement. When the cement has dried thereresults a margin which is tougher and hence more resistant to abrasion.Instead of making use of cotton fiock a lubricant such as zinc stearatemay be rubbed into the rubber cement before it is entirely dry. In thiscase a lower margin is produced which is both tougher and more slipperythan the rubber body portion. Preferably, however, as hereinillustrated, a fibrous stretchable material such as a strip of crepedpaper 33 is attached by cement to the lower margin of the cover, thecorrugations of this paper being transverse to its length so that thepaper strip may stretch lengthwise with the rubber portion of the cover;and preferably this paper is impregnated with a waterproofing andlubricating substance or'substanoes, for example with a mixture ofparaflin and carnauba wax. The lower margin of the cover is thus muchtougher than the body portion and has a much more slippery surface,since the coeillcient of friction between paper and metal is much lessthan the coeificient of friction between rubber and metal.

As has been explained, the cover is made by coating a form with latex,drying the latex and stripping the cover from the form. In order tofacilitate the manufacture of a cover having a strip of fibrous materialsuch as paper along its lower margin, a form of particular shape may beemployed, said form having along its lower margin a surface extending atan angle thereto which is fiat transversely. Preferably the form (Fig.3) has a fiat bottom 31 provided with transverse grooves 45. Surroundingthis bottom is a beveled portion 43 which extends from the level of thebottoms of the grooves to an in-' tersection with a cylindrical surface39 which is perpendicular to the fiat bottom 31. When the form has beencoated with latex, the surplus latex scraped from the bottom except forthe grooves and the latex dried, there result thin straps which arebonded to the body portion of the cover. Along the line of intersectionof the bevel 43 with the cylindrical surface 39 the coating of latex isliable to be thin so that a weak locality along this line would result.The strip 33 of paper, however, covers this locality in the finishedcover. Referring to Fig. 4 there is shown a cross-section of a portionof the form, its coating of rubber film 25 and the paper strip 33. Itwill be noted that when the latex coating has dried it has decreased inthickness so that the straps 21 do not fill the grooves 45. The edge ofthe flat bottom 31 projects above the rubber film 25 and provides ashoulder 4| against which one edge of the paper strip 33 is caused toabut. In this way the application of the paper strip is made easier, theweak locality in the film at the intersection of the bevel 43 and thecylindrical surface 39 is reinforced, and the cross straps 21 are wellbonded to the margin of the body portion of the cover. The bevel 43 notonly aids, as has been explained, in permitting a strong bond to be madeat the ends of the straps but also imparts an inward bend to the extremelower margin of the body portion of the cover so that, when'the cover isapplied to a shoe, the lower margin of the cover may more readily extenda short distance inwardly over the overlasted margin of the upper of theshoe.

The strip of fibrous material 33, as has been stated above, ispreferably a piece of creped paper with the corrugations runningcrosswise of the strip. In order to strengthen this strip in such mannerthat a very strong pull may be exerted upon it to tear the protectiveportion of the cover from the shoe after the cover has served itspurpose, the construction shown in Fig. 5 may be employed. In thisconstruction the paper carries a plurality of filaments, such as threads5|, which extend parallel to the corrugations. Conveniently, the stripsmay be cut from a sheet of paper treated as follows: The sheet of paper,preferably waterproofed and lubricated as has been outlined above, isplaced upon a convex support and coated with a latex cement which willfinally dry to a non-sticky condition. thread is looped back and forthover the members of two rows of pins carried by a suitable frame. Thesides of the threads which are to contact with the paper are sprayed.withlatex.

ion the display part of the upper.

This frame is then placed over the paper support with the wet side downin such manner that the runs of threads are parallel to the corrugationsin the paper and are brought down firmly upon the paper. The threads andpaper are run through suitable rolls to press the threads into firmcontact with the paper throughout their lengths. The ends of the loopsof threads are cut, or they may be out before the rolling operation, andthe strips33 are then cut fromthis prepared paper. In the manufacture ofa shoe the lasted shoe is mounted bottom side up upon a jack having alast pin to enter the last-pin hole and an abutment to prevent the shoefrom turning on the last pin. The cover is then stretched over the shoebeginning with the toe portion. The narrow straps, which leave exposedto view the greater part of the bottom of the shoe so as to permit thetemporary attaching of the sole by cement if desired and are quiteeasily stretched, facilitate this operation and not only permit thelower margin 29 of the cover to be caused to occupy just the desiredposition, but'also aid in holding it in that position. The cover isalways smaller than the shoe which it is designed to cover, andconsequently the bottom must be stretched to cause the lower edge 29 ofthe body portion to occupy the desired position which is preferably withits lower extremity just overlapping the outer edge of the overlastedmargin of the upper of the shoe. The pull of the body portion of thecover which tends to pull the lower edge of said body portion away fromthe edge of the bottom of the shoe is balanced, as it were, by the pullof the straps and the friction of the body portion Under theseconditions the lower edge of the body portion will stay where it isplaced. The narrow shank portion' of the cover and the more numerousstraps at that locality cause the cover to hug the shank and ballportions of the shoe and hold the lower edge of the cover in placeparticularly at and adjacent to the shank portion of the shoe. Thecovered shoe is removed from the jack and the sole and heel attached inthe usual manner, the heel-end straps of the cover to the rear of theheel breast line of the shoe being left undisturbed if a leather heel isattached. If the heel is a Wooden one, these heel-end straps are pulledback and broken so as to expose the entire heel seat. The varioussubsequent operations upon the sole and upon the heel (if it is aleather one) are carried out as usual, the guides, guards and shields ofvarious machines'traversirig the lower margin of the cover. Due to thetoughness of this margin and its slippery surface, the members of themachines traverse it without objectionable abrasion or cutting. Thewaterproof quality is also an aid, since otherwise the strip would beliable to soak up the edge and heel inks thus softening the strip sothat when later some part of a machine, for example the corner of anedge setting tool, struck or rubbed against the strip, the pulpy stripmight be roughed and broken. And even though in such a case the rubberbeneath the strip may not be broken, the margin is liable to separate atthese weakened localities when the cover is finally torn ofi instead ofseparating, as it should, at a locality hidden by the sole. After thevarious operations have been performed on the shoe the protectiveportion of the cover is torn off, preferably by seizing the lower marginand exerting a pull upon it. By such a. pull the narrow straps, outsidethe line of stitching or outside the line adjacent to the The covers ofFigs. 12 and 13 are in general like that of Fig. 1 in that they areprovided with weakened localities caused respectively by the slits '26and the holes '36 and in that their lower margins are reinforced withcreped paper strips 38 and 42 like that of Fig. 1. The cover of Fig. 12differs further from that of Fig. 1.in that it is held in properposition on the lasted shoe in a somewhat different manner. The bottomof this cover is provided with an elongated opening 44 extending fromnear the toe end. to the vicinity of the heel breast line, said openingbeing en-' larged to about the outline shown when the cover is stretchedover the shoe. In order to hold'the cover in proper position on theshoe, use is made of an adhesive. Preferably an adhesive which is drywhen the cover is ready to be placed on the shoe but can readily beactivated is employed. For example, the inner face of the margin of thecover around the opening 44 is coated with thermoplastic cement whichhas been indicated by a dotted area at 48. The operator stretches thecover over the shoe, locates it properly and then by means of a hot ironactivates the cement and causes the margin of the cover around theopening 44 to adhere to the bottom of the shoe. A sole may betemporarily attached to this shoe by cement if desired, since the bottomof the rubber cover is cemented to the bottom of the shoe and thusprovides a firm support for the sole. The covers of Figs. 12 and 13 maybe made in any suitable manner, for example by employing formssubstantially like that of Fig.3, but having patterns of differentconfigurations on their bottoms.

In Figs. 6, '7 and 8 are shown respectively a lasted shoe of theGoodyear welt type, its cover GI and the form 62 upon which the cover ismade. In the manufacture of a shoe of this type the machine, which sewsthe welt to the projecting lip 63 of the insole 65 and the projectingportion 61 of the upper-which lies against the sewing lip, has a guideadapted to traverse the inside of the lip at the base thereof. For thisreason it is not desirable to provide the cover with bottoms like thoseof the covers of Figs. 1, 12 and 13. This cover is therefore such thatnearly the whole sole attaching face of the shoe is exposed. At the heelend a series of straps 69 are provided at the rear of the rear ends ofthe sewing lip 63. At the toe end a small number of straps H (threebeing shown) are provided. These are sufficient to hold the toe end ofthe cover on the toe end of the shoe; but, due to their capability ofstretching and to their location, do not interfere with the operation ofthe guide of the welt sewing machine. It should be understood that theparticular bottom of this cover which has been shown and described-thatis, a bottom of transverse straps or of open-work nature-is notessential. It is desirable, however, to provide a cover having enough ofa bottom to extend over the toe portion andthe heel portion of thebottom of the shoe.

Owing to the open nature of the bottom of this cover, it is desirable toimpart to it a shape which will make up to an extent for the absence ofcross-straps across the forepart and shank of the shoe. To this end aform such as that shown in Fig. 8 may be used in making the cover. Thisform has a flat bottom I9, cross grooves 8|, 83 and a cylindricalsurface 85 which in general resemble corresponding features of the formshown in Fig. '3. The cylindrical surface, however, is provided not onlywith one pair of rentrant curved portions, one of which is shown at 81,but with a second pair at the forepart, indicated at 80, and a thirdpair, indicated at 9 I just ahead of the heel breast line. The cover BI,made on this form, thus has a lower margin 18 which is provided withthree pairs of corresponding rentrant curves as shown in Fig. 7. Thesethree pairs of rentrant curves cause the cover to hug the greater partof the shoe closely. At the shank, however, just to the rear of the ballthe lower margin of the cover tends to bridge from the ball to the heeland to fall away from the level of the bottom of the shoe, particularlyat the junction of the shank and ball portions of the shoe. To ensure anaccurate fit of the cover at the locality means is provided for holdingthe cover securely in place, such means, in the illustratedconstruction, taking the form of metallic fasteners such as staples, oneof which is shown at 11, which .fasten the lower margin of the cover tothe base of the sewing lip, there being one of these staples at eachside of the shoe in the location shown. This cover, it should be noted,may be very accurately located on the shoe whereby the cover effectivelyprotects the shoe during manufacture and may be easily and cleanly re-.

moved. The extreme lower margin of the cover extends over upon theshoulder or shelf where the upper lies upon the feather of the insoleand abuts the upper at the base of the sewing lip. The rentrant curvesin the lower margin'of the cover at the forepart and near the heel endhold the lower edge of the cover in position at these localities, sothat no fastening means except the two staples at the location shown arenecessary to ensure an accurate fit of the cover. When the welt is sewedto the sewing lip the extreme lower margin of the cover, which lies uponthe shelf or shoulder outside the base of the sewing lip, is pinchedbetween the welt and the upper, but the welt-attaching stitches will notordinarily pass through the lower margin of the body portion of thecover although at times they may do so in a few localities. At suchlocalities the cover will part at the stitch line when it is laterremoved. This cover like the others is preferably provided with areinforced lower margin in the form of a creped paper strip I8 like thestrip 33 of the cover of Figs. 1 and 2; and this strip with its crossfilaments facilitates the removal of the cover. It should be noted thatthe bottom of this cover which consists of the straps II, 69, is morereadily stretched than is the body portion.

It is believed to be unnecessary to describe in detail the sewing of thewelt, the trimming of the inseam, the attaching of the sole and heel,and the various subsequent operations all of which are carried out inthe usual manner, the tough and slippery lower margin I8 of the coverensuring that the cover will not be broken or cut or substantiallyweakened.

The cover 50 of Fig. 14 which is shown as applied to a Goodyear weltshoe but may, as will be explained, be used with a shoe of the McKaytype, resembles in many respects the cover shown in Fig. 6. The bottomis open except for a toe end consisting of cross-straps 52 and a heelend om.

. of an inch of the paper sisting of cross-straps 58. This cover carriesat the lower edge of its body portion a plurality of fastening membersherein shown as hooks 58 which are caught in a part of the bottom of theshoe, being herein shown as hooked over the sewing lip 62, to hold thecover in proper position. It should be noted that this cover could beused on a shoe of the McKay type, in which case the" hooks would becaught in somepart of the bottom of the shoe, for example in theoverlasted margin of the upper.

Fig. 9 shows a lasted cement shoe, that is a shoe the sole 'of which isto be permanently attached by cement. In this figure the cover is shownwith part of it in process of being applied to the shoe, another partafter it has been applied to the shoe, and a third part as it appearsafter it has been applied to the shoe, and that portion of it whichextended over the overlasted margin of the upper has been roughed off.In a shoe of this kind, after it has been made ready for the attachingof the sole, the whole sole-attaching portion of the bottom, whichextends from the toe end to a locality slightly forward of the heelbreast line, should be fully exposed. In this cover the paper strip I03projects well beyond the lower edge I04 of the rubber portion of thecover. Conveniently this cover may be made on the form shown in Fig. 11which is in general like the form of Fig. 3, but differs from that formin the following particulars. There is no bevel corresponding to thebevel 43 of the form of Fig. 3. The cylindrical surface I05 of the formI01 has a height less than that of the cylindrical surface of the formsof Figs. 3 and 8, being approximately /4 of an inch in height instead offrom /2 to of an inch as in the other two forms. This form of Fig. 11also differs from the other formsin the number and location of thegrooves in its flat bottom. The number and location of these grooves maybe greatly varied since, as will presently appear, all of the strapsformed by these grooves, except those across the heel end of the shoe,are removed before the sole is attached. As illustrated, the grooves I09comprise two grooves across the extreme toe end of the bottom of theform, one across the shank and two across the heel. After the form I01has been coated with latex, its bottomscraped, and the latex dried andvulcanized, a paper strip about of an inch wide precoated with latex asusual is attached to that portion of the cover which overlies thecylindrical surface I05 so that about of an inch of the paper stripprojects beyond the bottom of the form, the straps III which result fromthe grooves I09 being attached at their ends to the lower edge of therubber body portion of the cover.

This cover is placed on a lasted shoe with about strip projecting beyondthe level of the bottom of the shoe, as indicated in Fig. 9 by theportion I03 the straps III aiding in properly locating the cover on theshoe and temporarily holding the cover in place. A coat of adhesive H4is extruded along the edge I I2 of the bottom of the shoe in such mannerthat part flows upon the overlasted margin I I3 and part flows over theedge and down between the cover and the display surface of the upper,the.

per for a short distance, but is tight enough at a distance of about $4;of an inch from the level of the bottom of the shoe to prevent theadhesive from flowing farther. This adhesive is" of such a nature thatit will form a firmer bond with the latex-coated paper than with thedisplay surface of the upper when the two have been pressed together andthe adhesive has dried, so that, later,

the paper and the adhesive may be stripped cleanly from the displaysurface of the upper. Any suitable adhesive which will act in thismanner may be used, for example the latex preparation now commonly soldunder the trade name of Protectashu. After the adhesive has been appliedin the manner described above on the outer portion of the sole-attachingportion of the overlasted margin and on a narrow area of the displaysurface of the upper, the projecting portion of the strip I03 is bentover the edge of the bottom of the shoe and pressed against theoverlasted margin of the upper as indicated at I I5. When the adhesivehas dried, the cover is thus attached to the lasted shoe through thepaper strip which adheres to a narrow locality along the display surfaceof the upper and to the overlasted margin.

Before the permanent attaching of a sole by cement to a lasted shoe theoverlasted margin of the upper is roughed to' remove the glaze or finishon the upper leather so as to provide a proper surface to receive thecement. When this regular roughing operation is carried out, that partof the paper strip which adheres to the overlasted margin is removedtogether with the finish on the overlasted margin, this locality beingindicated at I"; and the straps which lie across the overlasted marginare at the same time broken, as indicated at I I9, and also removed. Thewhole soleattaching surface on the bottom of the shoe is thus leftexposed for the reception of the sole, the edge of what remains of thepaper strip I03 being indicated at I2 I. The cover is therefore attachedto the shoe only by the adhesion of a narrow margin of this paper stripto the display surface of the upper along the edge of the bottom of theshoe. The sole is then attached by cement, the heel being attached in asuitable manner depending upon whether it is of leather or of wood. In

the case of a leather heel, the projecting margin of the paper strip mayif desired be bent over the overlasted margin, and the heel may beattached without disturbing the paper or the heel straps. In the case ofa wood heel, the heel straps may be pulled back and caught over the heelend of the shoe to expose the whole heel seat for the fitting operationswhich prepare it for the reception of the heel. After the usualoperations have been performed on the shoe and the protective cover hasserved its purpose, it may readily be stripped from the upper of theshoe.

In this form of cover the paper strip carries no reinforcing threadssince these would interfere with the roughing operation. Although, asdescribed above, the paper strip projects beyond the edge of the rubberportion of the cover for approximately of an inch, it should beunderstood that the extent of this projection may be varied. The loweredge of the rubber portion of the cover might be flush with the loweredge of the paper strip if desired, in which case there would be, priorto the roughing operation, a layer of rubber attached to the overlastedmargin of the upper, said layer of rubber having upon it a layer ofpaper. Under these conditions. the roughing eration proceedssatisfactorily, the rubber and paper being readily removed.

Referring now to Figs. 3, 8, 11, 15 and 16, a more detailed descriptionof the forms and of the method of employing them in the manufacture 5 ofcovers will be given. Each form-is somewhat smaller than any lasted shoeto which it is to be-applied, it being understood that the 'cover madeon a particular form may be used on several sizes of lasted shoes.Referring first to Figs. 3 and 16, the form there shown has a bottomportion having a flat bottom surface 31 broken by transverse grooves 45of the same depth as the slight shoulder II, the vertical surface ofwhich intersects the flat surface 31. A narrow outwardly and downwardlybeveled surface 43 surrounds the bottom 31 and intersects at its loweredge a vertical cylindrical surface 39. This bottom portion issurmounted by a lastlike upper portion the height of which isproportionately less than that of the lasted shoe for which the form isto provide a cover by an amount determined by the height of the bottomportion which in this case is approximately of an inch. The bottom ofthe forepart of the form is considerably 25 narrower than thecorresponding part of the lasted shoe to which the cover made on theform is to be applied. The shank portion of the bottom of the form isvery narrow with abrupt reentrant curves in the cylindrical surface 39just to the rear of the ball; and to compensate for this narrowness theupper portion is swelled or bulged at this locality to produce aperipheral outside transverse measurement which is proportional to thecorresponding measurement of the lasted shoe. The bottom of the form atthe rear part is somewhat narrower than the corresponding part of thelasted shoe but is not proportionally as narrow as is the forepart ofthe bottom.

The form shown in Fig. 8 is in general similar to that shown in Fig. 3with the exception of the location of the groves in its bottom, the factthat the bottom as a whole with the exception of the heel portion isnarrower than the bottom of the form of Fig. 3, and that the cylindricalsurface has three pairs of reentrant curves indicated at 81, 89 and 9|,such a curving of the cylindrical surface being desirable since in thecover made on this form there are no bottom straps between the extremetoe end and the heel breast line. As 50 herein shown there is no bevelcorresponding to the bevel 43 of the form of Fig. 3 and no shouldercorresponding to the shoulder SI of the'form of Fig. 3, although thesefeatures may be embodied in the form if desired. As shown the form of 55Fig. 8 has a fiat bottom, the edge of which is slightly beveled.Otherwise, and except as noted above, the two forms are much alike, theupper portion of the form of Fig. 8 being enlarged or ed just to therear of the ball and having 60 a comparatively narrow rear part.

The form of Fig. 11, except for the arrangement of the grooves in itsbottom and the reduced height of the cylindrical surface I05, and thefact that there is no bevel around the edge of the flat 55 bottom, islike the form of Fig. 3.

The manufacture of covers on all of these forms is carried out inpractically the same manner, two of the steps as carried out in themanufacture of a cover on the form of Fig. 3 being shown in Figs. 70 15and 16. A rod I33 is driven into a hole in the top of the form toprovide a handle by which the form may be manipulated to coat it withlatex. This coating is accomplished by dipping the form slowly intolatex I35 in a' receptacle 7 I31, the dipping being carried out in suchmanner and at such speed that no air bubbles result from trapped air andno dripping of latex occurs when the form is removed. The coated form isremoved from the latex bath and is immediately turned bottom-side-up inwhich position, as indicated in Fig. 16, a scraper I39 is used to scrapethe latex from the bottom of the form, except for that which remains inthe grooves 45. The form is then placed in an oven to dry the latex orto dry and vulcanize it depending upon the nature of the latex which isused. The creped paper strip is then applied over that portion ofthecover which lies on the cylindrical surface 39 and on the beveledsurface 43 withv the edge of the strip abutting the shoulder 4!. Becauseof the cylindrical surface of the form the paper strip may be.

applied very readily, the latex adhesive coating on the strip beingprogressively activated during the application of the strip. The coveris then stripped from the form.

Although the advantages of certain features of the covers such as thereinforced lower margins of the body portions, the ready capability ofstretching and the open-work nature of the bottom portions have beenherein set forth, it should be understood that the invention is notlimited in the scope of its application except as defined in theappended claims.

- The reenforced paper strip and the method of I making it form thesubject matter of application Serial No. 101,439, filed September 18,1936; and the forms upon which the covers are made form the subjectmatter of application Serial No. 145,730, filed June 1, 1937,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An elastic protective cover ready to be stretched over a partlyfabricated shoe, said cover comprising a thin rubber body portion to thelower margin of which is attached a strip of renforcing material capableof stretching lengthwise, said strip being so located that when thecover is in place and an outsole has been located upon the bottom of theshoe, the strip lies adjacent to the sole with its lower portionextending over upon the overlasted upper of the shoe and terminatingshort of the locality of the line of the stitches which in a McKay shoeattach the sole to the insole and in a Goodyear welt shoe attach theupper to the welt.

2. An elastic cover for the protection of the upper of a shoe during itsmanufacture, said cover comprising a thin rubber body and a strip ofreenforcing material capable of stretching lengthwise, said strip beingso located that, when the cover is stretched over a shoe and an out soleis located upon the bottom of the shoe, the strip lies adjacent to thesole, said strip being capable of stretching lengthwise and carrying asolid material which renders the strip impervious to liquids.

3. An elastic protective cover for use in the manufacture of shoes, thatportion of the cover which, when the cover is in place, lies over thelower margin of the upper of the shoe adjacent to the sole comprising asjzrip of creped paper the corrugations of which are transverse to thelength of the strip, said paper carrying filaments all of which aresubstantially parallel to the corrugations.

4. An elastic protective cover having a bottom portion and being adaptedto be stretched over a lasted shoe, the bottom portion of the coverbeing capable of being stretched more easily than is the body portion.

5. An elastic cover adapted to be stretched over a lasted shoe toprotect the upper thereof, said cover comprising a body portion of thinelastic material having a bottom which is capable of being stretchedmore easily than is the body portion, and a strip of reinforcingmaterial capable of stretching lengthwise attached along the lowermargin of the body portion, said strip being so located that when thecover has been stretched into place and an outsole has been located onthe shoe the strip lies adjacent to the outsole with its lower edgelying upon the overlasted margin of the upper arid spaced from the edgeof said overlasted margin;

6. An elastic protective cover for use in the manufacture of shoescomprising a body portion adapted to be stretched over the upper of alasted shoe and a plurality of narrow straps integral with the bodyportion and adapted to be stretched over the bottom of the shoe.

'7. A'protective cover for use inmanufacturing shoes having an elasticbody portion adapted to be stretched over the upper of a shoe, and askeleton bottom comprising narrow elastic straps integral with the bodyportion and extending transversely over the sole-attaching locality ofthe bottom of the shoe.

8. A protective cover for use in manufacturing shoes having an elasticbody portion adapted to be stretched over the upper of a shoe, and abottom comprising elastic straps integral with the body portion and sonarrow and so widely spaced apart as to expose the greater part of thesoleattaching locality of the bottom of the shoe.

9. A protective cover for use in manufacturing shoes having an elasticbody portionadapted to be stretched over the upper of a shoe, and abottom comprising elastic straps integral with the body portion and sonarrow as to break easily and thus facilitate removal of the bodyportion when the cover has served its purpose.

10. An elastic cover having a bottom portion and being adapted to bestretched over a lasted shoe, the bottom of said cover being capable ofbeing more easily stretched than the body portion, and the lower marginof the body portion having opposed reentrant curves.

11. An elastic protective cover for use in the manufacture of a Goodyearwelt shoe, said cover having a substantially open bottom to permit theguide of the welt sewing machine to traverse the base of the sewing lip,the lower margin of the cover having an inward bend in the forepartadapted to lie over upon the margin of the bottom of the shoe with thelower edge of the cover terminating short of the line of stitches bywhich the welt is subsequently attached, said cover being adapted to befastened to the shoe at the shank portion, said fastening and said bendtogether with the elasticity of the cover serving to hold the lower edgeof the cover close to but outside said line of stitches.

12. An elastic protective cover adapted to be stretched over a lastedshoe, the lower margin of the body portion of the cover having aplurality of pairs of opposed reentrant curves.

135A lasted Goodyear welt shoe in process of manufacture havingstretched over it a cover to protect the upper thereof, said coverhaving a bottom sufiiciently open to permit the guide of the welt sewingmachine to traverse the base of the sewing lip and comprising a thinelastic body portion having firmly attached along its lower margin astrip of reinforcing material which is more resistant to abrasion thanthe body portion and is capable of stretching lengthwise, the lowermargin of saidstrip extending over upon the overlasted portion of theupper and terminating short of the line of stitches by which the welt issubsequently attached.

14. A protective cover ready to be stretched over a lasted shoe, saidcover comprising an elastic 10 body portion having a substantially openbottom,

there Being attached along the lower edge thereof a strip of reinforcingmaterial which is more resistant to abrasion than is the elastic bodyportion and is capable of stretching lengthwise.

15. An elastic protective cover ready, to be stretched over a lastedshoe, said cover having a substantially open bottom, the lower margin ofthe toe portion of the cover having an inward bend such that when thecover is stretched over a shoe, the lower edge of the cover liesnaturally over a portion of the overlasted margin of the upper close tobut outside the line of sole-attaching stitches and aids in holding thecover on the shoe.

16. A lasted Goodyear welt shoe in process of manufacture havingstretched over it an elastic cover having an open bottom to permit theguide of the Welt sewing machine to traverse the base of the sewing lip,the lower edge of the cover 30 extending over upon the lasted-overportion of the upper and lying substantially outside the line ofstitches by which the welt is subsequently attached.

17. An elastic protective cover ready to be 35 stretched over a partlyfabricated shoe, said cover comprising a thin body portion of elasticmaterial to the lower margin of which is firmly attached a reinforcingmaterial capable of stretching lengthwise and being more resistant toabrasion than is the body portion, said material-being so located thatwhen the cover has been stretched into place and an outsole has beenlocated upon the shoe the material lies adjacent to the outsole with itslower edge lying upon the overlasted margin of the upper and spaced fromthe edge of said overlasted margin.

18. An elastic protective cover for protecting the upper of a partlyfabricated shoe during subsequent manufacturing operations, said covercomprising a body portion having a bottom, said body portion and bottomconsisting of thin elastic material, and a strip of reinforcingmaterial, the bottom of the cover being capable of being stretched moreeasily than the body portion, and the strip of reinforcing materialbeing attached along the lower margin of the body portion and beingcapable of stretching lengthwise.

19. An elastic protective cover for protecting the upper of a partlyfabricated shoe during subsequent manufacturing operations, said covercomprising a body portion of thinelastic material having a plurality ofnarrow straps integral therewith and adapted to be stretched over thebottom of the shoe, and a strip of reinforcing material attached alongthe lower margin of the body portion, said strip being capable ofstretching lengthwise.

20. An elastic protective cover ready to be stretched over a lasted shoeto protect the upper thereof, said cover comprising a body portion ofthin elastic material having a bottom which is capable of beingstretched more easily than is the body portion, said body portion havingopposed reentrant curves, and a reinforcing material firmly attachedalong the lower margin of the body portion and having a lowercoeflicient of friction with metal than has the body portion, saidreinforcing material being capable of stretching with the body portionlengthwise of the cover and being so located that when the cover hasbeen stretched into place and an outsole has been located on the shoe,the reinforcing material lies adjacent to the outsole with its loweredge lying upon the overlasted margin of the upper and spaced from theedge of said overlasted margin.

STANLEY M. GRISWOLD.

